CALPIA trucks hit the road to assist the Office of Peace Officer Selection

As law enforcement agencies across the nation are in the middle of a recruitment crisis, California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA) has teamed up with Office of Peace Officer Selection (OPOS) to assist with recruitment efforts.

CDCR has experienced a dramatic decrease in applications over the last several years. In 2015, an average of nearly 5,000 applications were received on a monthly basis. That number has declined steadily since, with an average of only 2,000 applications received per month in the current fiscal year. With a strong economy and low unemployment, it has become more challenging for CDCR to fill peace officer positions with qualified candidates.

To assist OPOS with marketing for peace officer candidates, CALPIA wrapped 10 of their truck trailers with CDCR recruitment advertisements that travel the most high traffic areas up and down the state. According to CALPIA General Manager Chuck Patillo, those trucks will collectively log over 1.9 million miles per year on major highways and secondary roads, from Pelican Bay to Centinela and every institution in between.

“We are happy to partner with OPOS on this project and assist them with their recruitment efforts,” said Patillo. “With the miles our trucks cover statewide every year, and the statewide need for additional officers, this is a really good fit.”

OPOS also collaborates with CALPIA to design and produce recruitment marketing materials that are provided at events statewide. “We could not do our jobs effectively without the continued support, dedication, and service from CALPIA. We can’t thank them enough,” said OPOS Chief Rob Calderon.

Chief Calderon added, “The CALPIA trailers that were wrapped are visually stunning. They definitely get your attention, and we really appreciate CALPIA for suggesting the truck wraps.”

Recruitment and marketing efforts are being ramped-up statewide in response to the decrease in applications received. Spread the word – we are still hiring Correctional Officers. In fact, for the upcoming Fiscal Year, we are projecting to hire 1,760 Correctional Officers and 80 Youth Correctional Officers/Youth Correctional Counselors, or about 80 percent of the cadets hired during the ramp-up years.

To apply online, learn more about the selection process, or review our Frequently Asked Questions, visit us at www.JOINCDCR.COM.

6 Comments

Andy
on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 6:18 am

The CDCR can save resources by hiring retired annuitants for recruitment, and to do background investigations. There are many law enforcement agencies who hire retired annuitants as background investigators.

Great idea! Perhaps also save recruitment costs and Academy training costs by offering Custody Staff close to retirement some incentives to stay on past retirement age. Currently the incentive pay stops at 25 years. Perhaps add additional incentives to lure them to stay on. Just a suggestion as cost savings.